Inhigher education in the United States, aBlack Student Union (BSU) is anorganization ofBlack students, generally with a focus onprotest.[1] Historically functioning as a Black counterpart to the largely white organizationStudents for a Democratic Society,[1] Black Student Unions advocated for changes oncollege campuses during theBlack Power movement. According toIbram X. Kendi, the existence of the academic field ofBlack studies is a direct result of advocacy by Black Student Unions.[2]
In the 1960s, the passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964 required a census of allpostsecondary education institutions in theUnited States. The census identified students byrace orethnicity, revealing the low number ofBlack students attending predominantly white colleges and universities, and stated that federal funding would be withheld from educational institutions that did not meet the Act'sequal opportunity requirements. The subsequentHigher Education Act of 1965 expanded the availability offinancial aid to students seeking higher education, benefiting Black students more than any other group.Affirmative action programs at thecampus level additionally increased Black enrollment at many colleges.African American college enrollment doubled between 1964 and 1970, with the greatest proportion of the increase occurring at predominantly white colleges and universities.[3]
The admission of greater numbers of Black students by predominantly white colleges and universities did not equate to social acceptance of those Black students. Racial hostility toward Black students was common on college campuses, with white students and professors challenging their intellectual abilities and their right to attend college. In response, many Black students organizeddemonstrations to protest discriminatory policies at their schools, and worked to build academic and social support systems for themselves and other Black students at predominantly white colleges and universities.[3]
This alienating environment, combined with the rise of theBlack Power movement, influenced the creation of Black Student Unions on the campuses of predominantly white colleges and universities.[4]
The first Black Student Union began atSan Francisco State College in March 1966, three months beforeStokely Carmichael popularized the slogan "Black Power" and seven months before theBlack Panther Party was founded.[2] Initially founded in 1963 as the Negro Student Association, the group was transformed after the arrival of a formerFreedom Rider namedJames Garrett,[5] and the SF State Black Student Union became the inspiration for more than 1,000 other Black Student Unions (under various different names) across the United States.[2] During the winter of 1968–1969, the organization led astudent strike during which more than half of the 18,000 students at the college skipped classes to hold daily demonstrations.[6] Over the next year, a Black Student Union presence was established at everyCalifornia State University campus.[7]
The concept spread north to theUniversity of Washington, where a Black Student Union was founded in 1967. A BSU protest campaign successfully led to racial reforms within the university, and the group's broader organizing led to the formation of another BSU atWashington State University.[8]
A Black Student Union was officially formed atMills College in May 1968, claiming to be "first Black Student Union at a women's college in the West" and announcing an intent to "disrupt the activities of the college" unless the school hired twoAfrican American professors and a counselor.[9]
According toIbram X. Kendi, the existence of the field ofBlack studies inhigher education in the United States is a direct result of advocacy by Black Student Unions.[2]